We keep in touch with our friends, family and co-workers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, etc.

We don’t even have real garage sales anymore! Just click an app on you smart phone, take a picture of your valuable “junk” and Ta-Da!

Instant Garage Sale.

No dragging out 20 years worth of “treasures” to put on display tables in the front yard, or dealing with bargain hunters banging on your door at 5:30am asking when you open, and NO begging your family members to take a shift working on a hot Saturday afternoon.

The Internet is the New Main Street

People are busier now than ever. We still drive down Main Street, but it isn’t for the same reasons we did 50—or even 20 years ago. Main Street, Anytown, USA was the place to be. It’s where all small business owners dreamed of putting up a sign because it’s prime real estate for local business.

Why?

Because that’s where all the traffic is. Or, was. And where there’s traffic—there’s people. And people spend money.

Google is Main Street to the small business owner.

If you want your business to be found, you’ve got to be seen on the Main Street of the Internet—the first page of Google.

It’s as simple as that.

Think about the last time you searched for something on Google.

Did you flip back to page 20? Page 5?

Nope.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

You looked on page 1.

The Google Gods put the most relevant information front and center on page one to satisfy what the searcher is searching for.

That’s how Google became the Number 1 Search Engine.

Because they serve up the most relative, informative suggestions for you when you search for something using their platform.

That’s why Google makes bank….serious bank…on Google ads.

And that’s why businesses pay serious money to get their ads featured at the top of Page 1 in Google.

Smart business owners know that to get the most online visibility, they need to dominate in the Google rankings. And to some extend, the other search engines as well. Bing, Yahoo, etc.

Google is the big dog, with a whopping 1.6 billion unique visitors each month. Yeah. Billion. With a big ol’ “B”.

Number 2 is Bing, and they claim 400 million unique visitors.

How about number 3-Yahoo? Nothing to shake off; 300 million.

That’s each month, people!

What Does This Mean for Local Business Owners?

Glad you asked.

Imagine what would happen to your small business if you could be featured front and center on Google, Bing, and Yahoo, not to mention the other search engines?

You’d have to hire more people to answer the phones!

More people wanting your services means more money in your pocket!

Sounds, good…But how?

In order to get eyes on your small business, you need to get Google’s attention. Sure, you’ll want the others to know about you, too.

But, Google is running the show.

So, how does your little business get love from Google?

Google wants people to keep using their free search engine, because the more people who use their search engine means they get to sell more ad space, and because business owners know more people use Google to find what their looking for they buy more ads.

Make sense? It’s a big circle.

Here’s how it works from Google’s perspective:

People are looking for stuff. Let’s give it to them for free.

Provide valuable, relevant answers matching as close as possible to what words people are searching (keywords).

Deliver on page one only the most relevant results.

People are happy and they keep coming back.

Business owners see that BILLIONS of people use Google every day to find products and services.

Business owners buy ad space on Page 1 of Google.

They get more bang for their advertising bucks by buying ads that GOOGLE serves up to it’s free searching customers.

Rinse and repeat.

The “How” of the Google Game is Simple

Play by their rules. Don’t try to find short-cuts and fly-by-night tactics…They’ll slap you with a zoo penalty (Penguin, Panda, Hummingbird).

The rules are simple.

Have an online presence…a website.

Make it visually appealing.

Provide high-quality, informative content.

Help people.

Engage with communities (Google+, Facebook, etc.)

Be consistent.

Be relevant to your potential customers.

If it’s so simple, why is it so hard to move up in the rankings?

I like you. You ask great questions…

Okay, the rules are simple—but not easy.

It does take a lot of work and time to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s.

That’s where a good SEO service can help.

What’s SEO?

Another good question!

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It means doing the techniques that have proven to increase rankings in search engines.

The “simple but not easy” part is this:

It takes time.

It takes skill.

It takes knowledge.

It takes consistency.

Most business owners in 2016 realize that online is where their customers are. But they’re busy running a business! They don’t have time to deal with SEO techniques. They are trying to provide a service or a product to their customers.

That’s why we see so many small business owners toss up a quick website and abandon it when the don’t see any return.

When looking for someone to help build your online presence, go with the team or person who doesn’t promise you the moon. If someone tells you they can boost you to the top of Google in “X” amount of time…

Fuggetabout it.

Sure, they might be able to throw a bunch of money into an ad campaign and temporarily boost your rankings. But as soon as the ad comes down, so does your ranking.

Or maybe they know a few short-cuts or “tricks of the trade” that can guarantee your online success.

Run!

It’s not worth getting a Google slap, where you get buried on page 50 of the results, never to be seen again.